The e-invoicing obligation is coming sooner than many Austrian companies believe. Those using SAP and regularly working with German business partners are already under pressure to act. Anyone who ignores the issue will be forced to catch up under time pressure by 2030 at the latest, when e-invoicing will become mandatory throughout the EU.
What the current legal situation means in concrete terms, which formats are relevant, and what SMEs using SAP should prepare for now.
What the e-invoicing obligation currently means in Austria
Austria has not yet introduced a general B2B e-invoicing obligation. Electronic invoicing is mandatory in this country only for services to the federal government and public administration, the so-called B2G segment, processed via the ebInterface format.
For B2B transactions between Austrian companies, a PDF invoice sent by email is still legally permissible, provided the recipient agrees.
That sounds like good news. It isn't.
Germany has already introduced the e-invoicing obligation for domestic B2B transactions as of 1 January 2025. Austrian companies supplying to or being supplied by German business partners are directly affected, whether they want to be or not. German companies have been obliged to be able to receive e-invoices since 2025. Many are also increasingly insisting on receiving e-invoices.
At the EU level, the direction is clear. With the ViDA Directive (VAT in the Digital Age, EU 2025/516), e-invoicing will be mandatory for cross-border B2B transactions within the EU from 1 July 2030. For purely national obligations, something has already shifted earlier: Since April 2025, EU Member States have been permitted to introduce a domestic B2B obligation without approval from Brussels. Germany has done exactly that. Austria could follow suit at any time but has not yet set a date. Technically, a national step is expected within the window between 2028 and 2030.
German transitional periods: relevant for Austrian SAP users
Those working with German partners should be aware of German deadlines:
From 1 January 2025: All German companies in the B2B sector must be able to receive e-invoices. Austrian suppliers invoicing German companies should prepare structured formats.
By 31 December 2026: Paper and PDF invoices are still permitted if the recipient agrees.
Until 31 December 2027: For companies with previous year's turnover below 800,000 Euros, a transitional arrangement remains possible.
From 1 January 2028: Full e-invoicing obligation for all German B2B transactions without exception.
The window of opportunity for a calm, well-planned transition is closing over the next two years.
Which formats SAP must support: XRechnung and ZUGFeRD
Two formats are dominant in German-speaking countries. An SAP system must be able to process both.
XRechnung is a purely structured XML format. It contains exclusively machine-readable data, no human-readable representation. In Germany, it is the standard for public administration and is increasingly gaining traction in the B2B sector.
ZUGFeRD combines a human-readable PDF with an embedded XML data record. This is more convenient for the recipient because the invoice remains readable without special software, yet can still be processed by machine.
Both formats comply with the European standard EN 16931 and are therefore ViDA-compliant. Those who do a lot of invoicing with German partners often find ZUGFeRD to be the more pragmatic entry point, as it facilitates the transition from PDF-based processes. For invoices to the Austrian federal government, however, ebInterface remains the mandatory format, and for cross-border exchange, Peppol with UBL is gaining importance.
And another important point: a simple PDF invoice will no longer be considered an e-invoice in the legal sense in Germany as of 2025, regardless of how it is sent.
Why SAP standard alone is not enough
SAP can receive e-invoices. That's the good news. The less good news: receiving is not the same as processing.
The standard SAP system lacks fully automatic linking between the incoming document and subsequent ERP processes. The system imports the XML but supplier matching, account assignment, the 3-way match against the purchase order and goods receipt, and the final SAP FI posting remain manual or semi-automatic steps.
For businesses with a high volume of invoices or many different suppliers, this is not a viable situation, neither today nor in 2028, when volumes continue to rise.
The e-invoicing obligation is therefore not just a compliance issue. It's the right moment to rethink the entire incoming invoice process in SAP.
What SMEs in Austria should be preparing for now
The first step is an honest assessment. How are incoming invoices currently received, which suppliers and customers are located in Germany or other EU markets, and can the existing SAP system receive XRechnung and ZUGFeRD at all?
After that comes the actual question,.
And who already on S/4HANA Anyone migrating there should critically examine classic add-on solutions. Many of these were built for older SAP architectures and introduce precisely the media discontinuity that one actually wants to get rid of.
